PASIGHAT, 28 Apr: The dean of the College of Agriculture here in East Siang district, Dr AK Triphati highlighted the need for strengthening research “for enhancing the farmers’ income under oil palm by focusing on climate resilient technologies, resource management techniques, farming system research, and farm mechanisation.”
Dr Tripathi said this during a diagnostic field visit with a team of faculty members to an oil palm plantation here on Thursday. Through the visit, the team aimed at understanding the challenges and constraints related to oil palm cultivation, and to provide technological backstopping to the farmers.
Dr Tripathi also stressed on the need for oil palm farmers to be educated about the importance of diversification and inclusion of other components of farming, like cattle, goats and poultry, to enhance their income.
“Farmers also have to be made aware of growing leguminous inter-crops like rice bean, black gram, green gram, etc, to improve the soil fertility,” he added.
Prof Dr Gireesh Chand and Assistant Professor Dr S Ngomle informed the farmers about the importance of pollinators in oil palm, and its survival strategies. The team suggested to the farmers to adopt technologies like the drip irrigation system, fertigation, etc, for sustainable oil palm cultivation.
